maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

[She wants to grab his face, pull it down to hers and kiss him. It's not something she ever had a problem with before.

But he was the one who ended things, and he's given her such mixed signals since he showed up here—she can't bring herself to be the one to hand over her heart, in case it gets broken all over again.]

You tell me.

Guess we...deal with it. Somehow.

[ He should stop running. He should stop pushing her away. He should stop trying to lose her face in the more than willing bed partners he comes across who want a taste of that celebrity hero status he's got going for him. ]

[Her brow furrows slightly. That's not a great response.]

You make it sound like it's a bad thing.

Trust me, it's not. [ Who is he kidding? Is he trying to kid himself? If he is then why isn't he stopping himself from leaning his head closer to hers. ] Not really.

[ Probably still not that great of a response but... Now Nate's lifting his free hand to skim his fingerpads along her jaw. ]

[She's holding her breath, but that's the only part of her that's gone still, because she's tilting her head against his touch as her heart hammers a mile a minute.]

Good.

[She lifts her chin slightly, closer to his face.]

Good. [ he murmurs back, low between them, his hand sliding forward to curl over the back of her neck. His mouth is parting and ready to skim over hers, or well, it does, in the slightest of brushes that sends a warmth to fill his chest.

Nate's ready to do more than that, already pulling his hand from hers so he can get both of them framing her jaw. The wind decides to gust then and knock over what sounds like a metal bucket, the screeching of bats following with the flapping of their wings. ]

—Jesus

[It's a kiss, barely, and then there's an unholy noise and there's bats and Nate's pulling away—

—and Elena can't help but laugh.]

Oh, my lord. I think I just had a heart attack.

[Elena grins up at him and before she can talk herself out of it, she grabs the front of his shirt, pulls up down to her and kisses him.]

[ Whatever he wants to say, Elena doesn't give him a chance. His nose bumps her cheek but any ache there doesn't matter once her mouth is against his. A low groan is his only response, other than returning the kiss with as much enthusiasm. ]

I've been told I do that— [ A break in his words as he presses kisses to her bottom lip, fingers brushing some hair off her cheek. ] —to some people.

You have your moments.

[She's a journalist, she shouldn't think in cliches—but the kisses are completely familiar and like the first time all at the same time, and she wraps her arms loosely around his neck and takes some time to enjoy it.

Eventually, though, they have to come up for air.]

Really wasn't expecting this when I got your message.

And I still wasn't expecting you to answer.

[ He ducks his head to nip at her jaw, teasing where he remembers how sensitive she is, and then relaxes. His arm goes around her shoulders and he shifts so they're side by side, tucked close. ]

Were you expecting that booty call?

No.

[She tucks herself against him, feeling some of the night's chill on the breeze now, even though it's still mostly comfortable.]

I figured you'd go elsewhere for that kind of thing.

[ Does he tell her? Does she need to know? ]

Maybe once or twice.

[That's not surprising. They weren't together, and people have needs. A face like his and the celebrity of an imPort? She'd be more surprised if he didn't partake.]

Yeah, well. You're not the only one.

Yeah? [ He leans back to look at her, surprise showing, a whistle let out. Then he gives her a look. ] What are their Social security numbers?

[ There are some bones to go picking!! ]

[Elena raises both eyebrows, mostly amused—but some lines are clearly gonna need to be drawn.]

Don't get ahead of yourself, cowboy. If I didn't get jealous when you showed up in Nepal with someone else, you don't get to do anything now.

Besides, I didn't think your brand of theft extended to identity theft.

You were obviously hooked up with Jeff, don't deny it. [ Though RIP Jeff. He squeezes his arm around her shoulders. ] And I'm kidding, about it all.

Chloe and I were... [ Well, this could be an interesting conversation. He shrugs and trails off. Especially when the subject of identity theft comes up. ] It doesn't matter. That ship came and went.

[Her smile softens at the mention of her partner. Poor Jeff. She wishes so much that she could have saved him.]

I figured. [It went out with a bang.

Poor taste?]

I kinda like her, actually. I wouldn't have guessed that she'd help us.

I was for sure certain that she'd bail. She surprised even me. But she...stuck it out, right up until we were in the clear.

[ And Nate owed her. He owed her big. ]

I want to thank her, when I can.

[If she can.]

Think we should head down?

If she'll even accept a thanks. That's like a debt thing. You know how us treasure hunters feel about that stuff.

Oh, yeah. Sure. We probably...should. You'll be okay with the climb down?

[She's not sure she does, actually. If it's really about difficulty handling sincerity and vulnerable emotions, though, that she knows about very well.]

Yeah, I'll be fine. [Beat.] You? I mean, you do look kinda tired and frail...

I'm ancient. I don't even know why you accepted a kiss from me, I could've had mummy's breath.

[ Lies. He'd made sure to brush his teeth before meeting her. ]

You did. Mummy's breath is a turn-on for me.

Hey, I brushed my teeth before meeting you.

Did you?

So then you planned this.

I didn't plan this. I'd planned on checking on you and then, I don't know, I would go for a jog after or something.

But you did think to brush your teeth.

Well— yeah. Who goes running with gross sleep mouth feel? Not this guy.

Heh. That's good to know.

[Before she can think better of it, she leans in to give him once more kiss.]

Ye— [ Oh, a kiss. Nate will take it, gladly, and he doesn't let her go immediately but cups a hand to the back of her neck so they can enjoy enjoy it. ] —yeah. Real good to know.

[Even though they really should climb back down, she takes her time with the kiss. One for the road, so to speak.]

Very.

So... We going back down or...?

[ The rooftop is kind of covered in pigeon shit... ]

Yeah. We should go now.

[They'll continue this later and somewhere else. She hopes.]

Then down we go.

[ He takes her hand and begins to lead her to the ledge so they can begin the climb down. ]